FAudio Dark Sky

Introduction:


FAudio, a Hong Kong-based brand, has long been trying to mark its presence as a reputable brand in the audio industry (Asian countries), with a few good releases in the past. However, with the release of the Faudio Dark Sky, they have truly surpassed expectations, demonstrating their ability to create a true gem of an in-ear monitor (IEM). While not many enthusiasts were familiar with FAudio's expertise, the Dark Sky came as a delightful surprise, showcasing the brand's mastery in audio engineering and craftsmanship. This IEM represents a significant leap forward, solidifying FAudio's position as a top-tier manufacturer capable of producing extraordinary audio devices.

FAudio Dark Sky is a true gem in the realm of audio enthusiasts, offering an immersive listening experience that is sure to captivate even the most discerning audiophiles. With its impactful bass, clear mids, and extended highs, this IEM (in-ear monitor) boasts a wide soundstage, remarkable layering, and imaging capabilities.

Dark Sky impresses not only with its exceptional sound quality but also with its thoughtful and high-quality accessories. The included cable, featuring both 4.4mm and 2.5mm terminations, ensures compatibility with a wide range of audio devices. The IEM also comes with a generous selection of eartips, allowing users to find the perfect fit for their comfort and sound isolation needs. The Dark Sky's build quality is top-notch, combining durability with a compact and ergonomic design that ensures a comfortable and secure fit for extended listening sessions.



Sound:

Highs: The extended high frequencies of the FAudio Dark Sky shine brightly without causing listener fatigue. The crispness and clarity in this range are truly exceptional, allowing intricate details to be effortlessly revealed. The highs are smooth, well-extended, and meticulously controlled, resulting in a delightful listening experience.

Lows: One of the standout features of the FAudio Dark Sky is its impactful bass response. The deep, resonant lows are expertly handled, with the dynamic driver providing impressive bass slams that truly pack a punch. Despite the emphasis on bass, the Faudio Dark Sky maintains excellent control, preventing any muddiness or overpowering of the other frequencies. Whether it's the rumbling notes of a bass guitar or the thunderous beats of a kick drum, the Dark Sky brings a sense of cohesiveness and fluidity to the lower frequencies, providing a solid foundation for the music. Bass lovers will find themselves in audio nirvana with these IEMs.

Mids: Contrary to some reviews, Dark Sky offers clear and detailed midrange reproduction. Vocals shine through with admirable presence and accuracy, allowing listeners to fully immerse themselves in the intricacies of the music. The midrange strikes a delicate balance between warmth and neutrality, ensuring that no instrument or vocal is overshadowed.

Soundstage and Imaging: The FAudio Dark Sky presents a large, open, and airy soundstage, allowing the music to expand beyond the confines of your ears. The instrument separation and layering are masterfully executed, resulting in a three-dimensional sonic experience. The imaging capabilities of these IEMs are commendable, providing precise placement and positioning of instruments within the soundstage.

Comparisons:
Oriolus Isabellae

The Oriolus Isabella is awesome for its mid-range centric tuning, offering a natural and warm sound that is particularly captivating for vocal enthusiasts. Its single dynamic driver design provides a beautiful presentation of the human voice, showcasing a realistic and rich tonality. The Isabella excels in rendering simple acoustic music, allowing the listener to appreciate the subtle nuances and delicate details of the instruments. Its emphasis on the mid-range creates an intimate and engaging listening experience, making it a go-to choice for those seeking a captivating vocal performance.

On the other hand, the Dark Sky takes a different approach as an all-round IEM. While it may not excel in the vocal and mid-range aspects like the Isabella, it compensates by delivering amazing lower-end frequencies. The Dark Sky exhibits a powerful and impactful bass response, adding depth and excitement to the overall sound. It offers a broader range of versatility across various music genres, ensuring an enjoyable experience for listeners who prefer a more dynamic and energetic sound.

In terms of fit and comfort, the Dark Sky holds an advantage. It provides a better fit, allowing for a secure and comfortable experience during prolonged listening sessions. The Isabella, however, is designed for relaxed listening, offering a comfortable and laid-back experience that caters to those seeking a more leisurely and immersive engagement with the music.

In summary, the Oriolus Isabella and the Dark Sky cater to different listening preferences and moods. The Isabella shines with its mid-range centric and natural sound, particularly enhancing vocals and simple acoustic music. On the other hand, the Dark Sky excels in delivering an all-round performance with its impressive lower-end response and better overall fit. The choice between the two ultimately depends on the listener's desired sonic characteristics and the mood they wish to experience – the Isabella for relaxed and introspective listening, and the Dark Sky for a fun and energetic musical journey.

CampfireAudio Andromeda
The Dark Sky, with its dynamic driver configuration, offers a notable emphasis on impactful bass. It delivers a powerful low-end response that adds depth and weight to the music, creating an engaging and energetic experience. While the bass of the Andromeda may not be as impactful as the Dark Sky, it compensates by providing a more balanced and nuanced representation. Andromeda, an all-balanced armature (BA) driver IEM, presents a controlled and accurate bass reproduction, focusing on precision and clarity rather than sheer impact.

One area where the Andromeda truly shines is its expansive soundstage. With its BA drivers and meticulous tuning, it creates a wider and more immersive soundstage, allowing instruments and vocals to be presented with greater separation and spatial accuracy. This enhanced sense of depth and imaging enhances the overall musical experience, bringing a heightened level of immersion and realism.

In terms of mid-range performance, the Andromeda is often praised for its sweeter and more refined presentation. The mids are characterized by a smooth and detailed rendition, elevating vocals and instruments to a level of clarity and emotion that captivates listeners. While the Dark Sky delivers a solid mid-range performance, the Andromeda's BA drivers excel in providing a sweeter, more nuanced, and overall more satisfying mid-range experience.

Overall, the Dark Sky impresses with its impactful bass and energetic sound, catering to listeners who appreciate a dynamic and bass-forward presentation. On the other hand, the Andromeda takes a more balanced and immersive approach, offering a larger soundstage, a sweeter mid-range, and a more refined overall musical experience. The choice between the two ultimately depends on personal preference, with the Dark Sky appealing to those seeking a bass-driven sound, while the Andromeda entices those who prioritize a wider soundstage, an immersive experience, and a sweeter mid-range performance.

Conclusion:
1. Solid and all-round performance; I cannot complain of any particular thing missing in the iem. And that bass is super addictive.
2. Try bigger tips for that perfect seal. You will realize how well it sounds only when you have a great, snug fit. My SednaEarfitLight size L did wonders.

In conclusion, the FAudio Dark Sky is a formidable contender in the realm of high-quality audio. Its powerful bass, clear midrange, and extended highs work together harmoniously to deliver an immersive and captivating listening experience. With remarkable resolution, clarity, and detail retrieval, these IEMs excel at recreating music with stunning realism. The elegant and lightweight design ensures a comfortable fit, complemented by the inclusion of premium accessories. The Faudio Dark Sky is truly an all-rounder, catering to a wide range of musical genres and pleasing the most discerning audiophiles. It is a testament to the dedication and craftsmanship of Faudio, to offer a product that exemplifies excellence in both sound and design.

Disclaimers & Caveats

I purchased the FAudio Dark Sky from Musicteck at a reduced price in exchange for my honest impressions following discussions with Andrew (owner of Musicteck, for those of you who may not know him!) on how it might compare to other single DDs - Andrew generously offered me the opportunity to find out for myself - all he asked in return is that I share my honest impressions by way of a review.

Also, it should go without saying but I will note none-the-less: this is indeed an incredibly subjective hobby and many of us hear things very differently in terms of what actually equates to listening pleasure. With that said, it should be reasonable to map out findings that provide context for others to take a position on whether the item under review might meet their preferences. My review won't be deeply technical, as I'm not deeply technical - I am however a technology nerd and music fanatic so will attempt to best convey my impressions in this review. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will do my best to respond with a meaningful response! Alert: YMMV (your mileage may vary) - this is what I have heard with my music preferences relative to other IEMs in my collection.

To burn-in or not burn-in: a hot topic, pardon the pun but it does indeed divide. In my experience, brain or technology, I have perceived changes over time and ensure that I allow time to burn-in, while listening at various intervals. For Dark Sky, I allowed approximately 60 hours in the first week but after that, just clocked up listening hours - I estimate I’ve listened in total for about 100 hours.

FAudio Dark Sky is available from Musicteck at $1,150 MRSP - LINK



Preamble

As previously noted, I am a self-proclaimed music and technology nerd. A large part of my career was in consumer electronics, starting from my teens in the mid-90’s while working in electrical retail, and up to more recent years working for well-known electronic brands and sourcing / distributing audio products around the globe. I don’t work in that industry anymore unfortunately (imagine, I was once paid to search for audio products!) but the passion lives on and what ultimately brought me to this hobby - combined with my life-long love for music, right from my youngest childhood memories, to a DJ in the 90’s and amassing a vast collection of CD’s and records for over 30 years.

Over the last year or so, I’ve landed on single dynamic drivers as my preferred transducers in IEMs - the coherency, natural timbre and overall engagement factor better suits my listening preferences and this has led to a quest to learn more about various implementations. The focus at the moment being the higher-end of the market but I fully intend to explore other segments - it is clear that products of a much lower price are incredibly capable, the oft-mentioned ‘diminishing returns’ can’t go ignored, my recent purchase of the infamous BLON-03 certainly supports this - not to mention what buds can do at a fraction of the price.

I had never heard of FAudio until brought Dark Sky was brought to my attention in September this year. I was immediately curious - a single DD sitting in a similar price category and launched in the same year as the formidable IE900 by Sennheiser, arguably one of the best single dynamic drivers launched in 2021 - and indeed a personal favourite, which reveals my bias.

FAudio - Dark Sky

Who are FAudio?

FAudio are a Hong Kong based IEM company, founded in 2014 by Fung Wong, ex Head Engineer at Miniwatt. I couldn’t find much information about the brand, it appears they are more known in Asia based on comments on social media. There are some other products featured on their website but oddly enough, Dark Sky isn’t.

Evaluation Setup: Sources, Tips, and Music...

My sources are the Sony NW-WM1A, Cayin N6ii-Ti, and the L&P W2 dongle.



I haven’t used the stock tips as I have my go-to tips for all IEMs. In this case, I’ve rotated AET07, Azla Standard, and Symbio F - all of which provide an excellent seal and great listening synergy. I like tip rolling, part of the IEM experience and always interesting to hear how they perform.

I will note specific tracks further on but for now, please be aware that I have a rather broad interest in various music genres, these include: ambient, modern classical, D&B, techno, trance, house, jazz, downtempo, IDM, hip hop, indie, some rock to name a few. For the purpose of this review, I chose a selection of go-to tracks that in my experience, test the sonic capabilities of an IEM and inform me as to their suitability for specific genres in my collection. I don’t believe in the existence of a single IEM that meets all of my music needs, this drives the hunt to explore many DDs with the objective to uncover their various ‘superpowers’.

Unboxing & Accessories

I mentioned in the preamble that I worked in consumer electronic for many years. As part of my role, I often had to evaluate product suitability for sale in various markets - this meant not only the need to determine the need/want in the market for the product offering, but also get a good sense of the brand ethos - do they make a product because they see a market gap, or is there evidence of pride and passion for what they do, a desire to actually ‘delight’ the customer - which in my experience, was typically evident not only in how I engaged with the brand but their packaging often screamed passion; the desire to anchor the customer with a fantastic unboxing experience, providing an instant appeal in first impressions before even opening the box. I was sent a lot of samples and spent many hours going through products, often met with cheap/tacky packaging and overall lack of creativity in their branding. While it’s not essential or indeed a prerequisite, I prefer a delightful unboxing experience - it should be memorable from the moment the box lands in your hands. When a new item arrives to my house now as part of this hobby, I make sure to pick a quiet room - ideally make a coffee (or beer, depending on time of day...) and enjoy the whole experience. But hey, I know that may not matter for all and often folks might be so excited they just rip the box open to get their shinny new toy in their hands (or ears) ASAP…

The good news is, FAudio absolutely deliver in this regard, offering an unboxing experience that one would expect at this price tag.

Dark Sky is presented in a compact rectangular box with minimal aesthetics - plain black finish with both the brand name, model and what I assume is the company motto or slogan. I love this minimal styling, it immediately ticks that premium box and starts to suggest FAudio fall into my preferred brand category, i.e. they care about the customer and have pride in what they do.



Upon opening the lid, you are presented with a card and a message from the Chief Sound Engineer (what an incredible job title!). I love this personal touch, again it demonstrates a connection to the customer and a passion for their creations.



We are then greeted with the main event, revealing a very nice presentation of the earphones in a familiar style layout, along with the various adapters, the circular carry-case, and a ‘service pack’ which includes a cleaning cloth, carry pouch, warranty card. There is a well-considered care instruction card with guidance on protecting your audio investment.



In addition, a cleaning tool is supplied, IEM protective cover and silicone covers for the shells themselves. Oh and of course a selection of tips: grey/black tips in small, medium, and large with a wide bore - white in the same size selection but this time a standard bore width. Interestingly, they only supply one set of foam tips which I suspect are small, they were certainly too small for my ears and measure noticeably smaller than my chosen foam tips, the Symbio F in Large.



There is also a beautiful and practical carry case included, one of the nicest I’ve experienced which is finished in a leather-like material with a soft interior - it works very well when you carefully wrap the cable around your fingers and position in the case, using the supplied leather strap to secure - I love the chrome finish to the button, it feels and looks expensive.



The cable is really beautiful and looks almost like you could pay the full cost of this entire package just for the cable if you slapped some well-known brand logo on it. It looks and feels wonderful with a matching deep blue finish - soft touch and little or no microphonics. The cable terminates with a 2.5mm connection but FAudio supply adapters for both 4.4mm and 3.5mm, all bases covered. Nitpick but I would prefer a modular system as per the excellent solution on offer from DUNU, it is a tidier finish from an appearance and ergonomics perspective.



The shells themselves are beautifully constructed and again present a premium level of workmanship. They are lightweight with a deep matt blue finish and sit incredibly comfortably in my ears (with the right tips - this can take a bit of work) - the combination of the excellent cable and lightweight ergonomic shells allow for long listening sessions without fatigue. The aforementioned silicone sleeves unfortunately made the shells uncomfortable and too big in my ears, a great idea though if they fit.



The supplied adapters for 4.4mm and 3.5mm are of excellent build quality and feel sturdy when affixed to the 2.5mm terminal and indeed upon connection to your source. Isolation isn’t fantastic, even using foam tips I can generally hear my surroundings quite well.



Specifications



What do they sound like?

The important bit I guess and one I must admit has caused me some challenge over the last few weeks, I’ll come back to that in a bit. What instantly jumped out at me when I first listened is the expansive soundstage - as wide as IE900 but taller, it actually reminded me of MEST MKII almost but with better coherency - or should I say, more to my taste. It’s quite amazing to think there is just a single dynamic driver delivering the goods - the technicalities are remarkable, highly resolving with not only a large/airy stage, but with to my ears, excellent imaging - I’m inclined to say they are very mildly U shaped as I hear emphasis down low and up high but the mids delivery is more or less level, just not quite as prominent - maybe a mild V shape is a better description - this is some of the challenge I previously referred to, I’ve wrestled over it in a few listening sessions. The timbre is the best I’ve heard when it comes to non-electronic instruments and vocals: bass, strings, percussion, and female vocals in particular are outstanding. Dark Sky performs well with any genre I’ve tested and I consider it a very capable all-rounder but leans spectacular for instrumental, jazz, and vocals - especially less complex music. I would say it has a slightly cool hue to its signature and this amplifies the strong technicalities.



Let’s try a few songs - I've linked to them on Bandcamp where possible

In the song ‘Body’ by Julia Jacklin, her voice sits dead centre and slightly forward - instruments surround her voice and seem to sit exactly on stage where I expect them. Delivery is expansive but still intimate - I can hear a cohesive whole but still zoom in on specifics if I choose to, like holding an item in front of your eyes, and shifting focus from the item to the wider surroundings and back again. Every instrument sounds accurate to my ears. Julia’s voice so perfectly rendered, reminds me of hearing her play in Dublin back in the days of gigs pre-COVID (sigh!) - not a hint of sibilance and that wonderful sense of like she’s singing in the room beside me. The slow percussion rolls along in support, stretching out from the middle in both directions, occasional cymbal strikes come and go with yet again, stunning realism.



Staying with Julia Jacklin but moving to a more energetic song ‘Pressure to Party’, I’m greeted with the same vocal treatment and as the track is significantly busier with the addition of electric guitars and more upbeat percussion, Dark Sky put more to the challenge of handling competing frequencies in the mid to high frequencies in particular. I feel at times that it might tip towards harsh but never actually goes completely over the edge, but that close proximity must be noted.



This has become a huge favourite to put IEMs to the test: ‘Harmony with Nature’ by Matthew Halsall (spiritual jazz). There is beautiful build of atmospheric melodic sounds before the upright bass enters - Dark Sky grabs hold and positions right in the middle, respectful to the sax which joins at about the same time - the bass digs deep, sounding uncannily natural, the strings vibrating as they pluck with wonderful realism. I hear a striking balance across low, mid and high - again, an emphasis on a natural delivery but instruments are allowed to take centre stage as appropriate. I’m increasingly drawn to jazz with Dark Sky, a genre I don’t listen to enough.



On to some hip hop - Dr Dre. ‘The Day the Niggaz took Over’. This is again a go-to track for me to test new toys. I love the wide range of instruments and vocals ranges from the various rappers. The soundstage, layering, and imaging is yet again, stunning - the zoom in/zoom out sensation again apparent, allowing a focus on the individual parts or the cohesive whole. I sense a slightly thinner tone to Dr Dre’s voice, but marginal.



Next up is some classical and while a genre I don’t listen to that often, I’m keen to hear how a single DD manages the complexity of passages, ‘Summer 1’ from the Vivaldi Recomposed by Max Richter always a top choice. Dark Sky as one might expect by now, presents yet again its large stage. Instruments sit centre and support out wide, all perfectly clear and with beautiful timbre. I again feel a struggle between focusing versus musical, the strong technicalities play a bit of a tug of war with the engagement factor and I’m still not sure which wins. Some might prefer a straight-up emotive factor, others specifically analytical but this is rather interesting how it seems to sit in the middle. I will note, I am enjoying this album immensely while listening for this review and actually finding it hard to press ‘stop’ as a I move to another song.

Ok, time for some dub techno in the shape of the classic ‘Phylyps Trak’ by Basic Channel. This is all about pounding bass and accompanying dark synths. Kick drum thumps with deep club-like authority, providing a guiding line for the synths and cool but melodic atmosphere that surrounds. Percussion treble hits around 2 minutes in and the track develops to more complexity, Dark Sky has no problem coping with the peaks of potentially conflicting energy. Strangely, when I first listened to Dark Sky, I didn’t think they would perform quite as well with electronic music but time has proven otherwise - incredibly capable in some cases and dub techno indeed sounds fantastic.

Now some more electronic but more mid-focused and uplifting - the relatively recent but 90’s rooted ‘Glue’ by Bicep. There is an uncanny amount of airiness but still, this amazing sense of cohesion - captivating and detailed. Melodic synths float over the breakbeat percussion, bass flows beautifully and the sampled voices arrive and take position without interruption.



Next up is ‘Big Question Small Head’ by Tipper. A fantastic artist to test sonic capabilities and his recordings are always of the highest quality. Detail retrieval is stunning, beautiful clarity and pinpoint accuracy of every component in the track.



To test ambient, I’m listening to ‘The Shape of Modern Tragedy’ by Still Harbours. This track features on the fantastic album ‘Armature’, released in 2020. Technically, it sounds excellent - a wide soundscape of atmospheric ambient music. I must note, I don’t get as much musical engagement as I do say with Isa or ZEN PRO - the slightly cooler tuning doesn’t lend as well to the emotive connection I often seek with ambient music, typically to relax and unwind, not to delve deep in the detail. That said, it can be deemed another route to explore with ambient music - and it's not devoid of emotion by any means.



Comparisons

Sennheiser IE900 ($1,299)

The pristine, pinpoint tuning of IE900 is to my ears without competition in single DDs I’ve heard - it is the SACD (Super Audio CD) of IEMs - a clear, fast, digital-sounding tuning that has an immediate grip on whatever you throw at it. They share similar levels of bass but IE900 is faster with a better control of more complex passages, especially those in electronic music sub-genres such as breakbeat, techno or D&B - IE900 is the one to beat here and I suspect it will be a while before we see a contender to this throne, Sennheiser have achieved a remarkable feat in their implementation of bass. Dark Sky triggers higher levels of upper mids/lower treble where IE900 spikes in the higher registers of treble: to my ears, this means IE900 has better control when it comes to the upper limits of treble energy, crisp and succinct high hats that hit quickly and pull back just as fast, especially in energetic electronic music (techno, house, EDM, trance etc.) - Dark Sky on the other hand, drives more energy into snare rims for example, leaning more towards a slightly better representation of non-electronic instruments that are less about precision and more about authenticity. They are both spectacular single dynamic drivers and absolutely complementary to one another, offering a different take on a music collection - IE900 more pristine/precise tuning with a CD-like rendering, with Dark Sky pointing in a more organic, maybe vinyl-like take on things. Something in common I would say is they are both rather energetic IEMs, more fun than intimate and while I have that ‘tug of war’ with Dark Sky in terms of analytical versus musical, I lean more musical with IE900.



Oriolus Isabellae ($599)

Isa is the gentle giant, or maybe sleeping giant - offering incredible value for the price point. Polite, relaxed tuning that to my ears, zooms in on ambient, vocals, acoustic and generally more subdued genres. My go-to when I just want to relax and not spend time trying to focus on the delivery, simply sit back and enjoy. Isa does a better job of ambient music in particular - there is a unique charm, allure and intimacy about the tuning that lends itself very well to this genre, allowing me to appreciate the music and not think about or get distracted by detail. When switching from Dark Sky to Isa, there is a dramatic drop in stage size and overall ‘wow’ factor. Bass falls off a cliff, mids step forward and treble leans more toward higher frequencies, but never harsh.



DUNU ZEN PRO ($899)

I participated in a recent tour of the DUNU ZEN PRO. This was open to existing owners of the original ZEN, the remit being to compare the new and improved PRO - small refinements that significantly enhanced the overall tuning. ZEN PRO stands out as the most balanced of this selection - performing very well with every genre but again, not with the same level of finesse that Dark Sky manages in areas of speciality such as jazz and others that have a clear focus on excellent timbre rendition of instruments and vocals. The stage is smaller, more like IE900 I would say in terms of width but doesn’t reach the same heights as Dark Sky. Bass doesn’t dig as deep but honestly, once my ears have tuned back to ZEN PRO, I don’t feel at a loss. Likewise there is more upper-end energy available from Dark Sky, a somewhat cooler hue in comparison which is what I believe injects more analytical capability - ZEN PRO has more foward mids also, adding enhanced emotion to the mix. ZEN PRO can comfortably allow micro focus as well as a cohesiveness of engagement but I feel leans more to the latter, I’m less inclined to focus on specific elements, but have the option to if I choose.



Conclusion

I have enjoyed my time getting to know Dark Sky over the last few weeks. They have challenged my existing understanding of the capabilities a single dynamic driver can deliver, and led me to listen to a lot of music that previously had less focus. I didn't expect an IEM to shift my music direction on a new path, but Dark Sky has certainly paved the way to more jazz, female vocals, and instrumental music - mostly of the more relaxed varities where to my ears, Dark Sky shines bright. The fact that I listen to a wide variety of genres has very much driven this quest to explore IEMs and I am clear where Dark Sky now sits in my collection, delighted it has broadened my listening horizons. Overall, I feel Dark Sky is an incredible performing dynamic driver that clearly a lot of passion has gone into its development.

---

The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion. The review was originally posted on my site, and now I would like to share it with my readers on Head-fi.

Manufacturer website: FAudio. Available for sale from Musicteck.

---

Intro.

I have to admit that prior to this review I wasn’t even aware of FAudio brand and their products, and only heard of them recently when Andrew of Musicteck asked me if I’m familiar with their latest Dark Sky flagship release. After Googling the company, I saw it was founded by former MiniWatt lead engineer, Fung Wong, in 2014, and their first official release was back in 2016. Based in Hong Kong, it seems they built quite a following in Asia, and had a few popular releases, such as Minor, Major, and Project Y. Dark Sky is their latest release, though I couldn’t find it on their site yet.

I was still contemplating if I should take a listen since a lot has been on my plate lately, but once I found out it is a single DD design, as usual, curiosity got the better of me. Single DD iems fascinate me because you have one building block, unlike hybrids, tri-brids, quad-brids, and you never know what to expect. I borrowed this pair without expectations to write the review, only wanted to hear a new flagship iem from a brand I never heard of before. At least that was the plan, but I got drawn in as I spent more time listening, switching eartips, trying other cables, and pairing it with different sources.

And while taking notes, I realized that I have accumulated enough material to start working on the full review, to share what I have discovered after spending the last few weeks with Dark Sky in my ears. So, here it goes!



Unboxing and Accessories.

As I have learned lately, the price of the product is no longer an indicator of unboxing experience. You can have multi-kilobuck IEMs that come in a modest brown cardboard box, or you can have something like Dark Sky at 1/6 of the price with a premium packaging and a flagship level unboxing experience. Arrived in a sturdy giftbox quality packaging box, the first surprise came after I removed the cover to discover Dark Sky along with a round leather case and 2 quality T-shaped cable adapters which reminded me of popular DDhifi adapters. With everything out of the box, let’s take a closer look at what was included.



As already mentioned, you get a nice round leather storage case, and it wasn’t some generic cheap case with a stamped logo. This is a nice quality textured leather case with a soft inner lining, in blue color to match the IEM shells and cable. Furthermore, you also get a soft cloth drawstring storage pouch and the same material piece of a cleaning cloth plus cleaning brush tool, along with a warranty card and user’s guide. You also get a double-pocket mesh storage. As you can see, FAudio paid a close attention to make sure you keep these safe and scratch-free during transportation.



And speaking of that, FAudio went one step further, also including protective soft silicone covers. Referred by FAudio as soft silicone earplugs sleeve, these use a skin-friendly soft material, have a perfect cutout for 2pin connector and vents, don’t add to much bulk, and very comfortable to wear with shells. I don’t know if the color will change over time, silicone DAP cases tend to get yellowish, and in theory you don’t have to use it. But considering all metal shell design, they make a good protective cover if you are planning to use them while working out or biking and need extra protection from scratches and drops.



I will talk more about the cable next, but cable by itself comes wrapped in a genuine leather organizer strap with a snap button. And considering cable was terminated with 2.5mm BAL plug, FAudio also included 2.5mm to 3.5mm and 2.5mm to 4.4mm short T-shaped adapters, as I mentioned already, similar in shape to DDhifi adapters. These adapters have a metal black housing and a very solid robust design with a secure mating of the cable plug. Their sound quality is actually very transparent, no coloration what so over. I verified it by comparing with my other high end PWA and EA adapters and pigtails.



Last, but not least, are 3 sets of eartips, set of white silicone (S/M/L) narrow bore tips, set of grey silicone (S/M/L) wider bore tips, and a pair of small size wide bore foam eartips. Not sure why only one pair of small foam eartips was included because I would have loved to try bigger size.



Cable.

I always consider removable cable as part of the accessories and was quite surprised here that $1k+ iem comes not only in premium packaging, but also with a premium wire material cable.

The cable design features 4 separate 24AWG thickness conductors and deep blue color outer Ultra Soft PVC jacket to match the color of the shells. Each conductor/wire features 7 core groups, wound with a specific ratio and multiple twists. The wire itself uses high purity Silver and Silver alloy and adds Gold-Silver alloy wires (silver immersed in gold). Also, only premium audiophile grade solder was used.

The hardware of the cable uses CNCed metal parts with a shiny chrome finish. 2.5mm TRRS BAL plug housing has a comfortable grip, matching finish and similar shape y-split with a matching chin-slider to complement the looks. You will also find a flexible pre-shaped earhook heatshrink close to 2pin connectors, also housed in matching finish metal shells with clear L/R labels.



Design.

The shells are very compact and lightweight, CNCed from T6061 aluminum alloy, and treated externally using manual grinding and anodized polishing finish which gives it a more unique textured deep blue look. The design itself is very ergonomic and I found shells to fit comfortably inside my ears, been using them for hours without ear fatigue. The shape and the size of the shells should work with any ear anatomy unless you are into CIEMs only.

From a visual perspective, faceplates are flat, with FA logo. Inner part of the shell is slightly bulbous and extends into a longer stainless-steel nozzle which has a vent at the base and mesh cover at the nozzle tip. Nozzle tip has a generous lip to hold eartips secure and to prevent them from sliding off. Another pinhole vent is located next to 2pin (standard 0.78mm) socket.

In the heart of the design is 10.2mm double diaphragm Dynamic Driver, using different material for each diaphragm. According to manufacturer, one is Fiber material diaphragm which supposed to provide a faster sound response, yielding tighter low frequencies and smoother mids. The other diaphragm uses D.L.C. (diamond like carbon) material, intended for better high frequency extension, to provide more clarity and details, higher resolution, and more expanded soundstage. The spec of this driver is 24ohm impedance and 114dB sensitivity with a wider range of frequency response covering 15Hz to 38kHz.

Surrounding this 10.2mm DD is a patented Triple Built-in Acoustic Chamber design (T.B.A.C.) to control the airflow pumped by this dynamic driver. This triple chamber design consists of 1) A separate acoustic chamber which houses the actual driver, 2) CNC aluminum housing of the shell with a built-in acoustic chamber to reduce any unnatural jitter and distortion, 3) Stainless steel nozzle sound tube which releases the air pressure into the ear canal.



The fit.



Sound Analysis.

I analyzed Dark Sky sound performance paired up with a neutral LPGT source while playing a variety of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”. I let it burn in for at least 100hrs before I started taking my notes. Also, was using white stock eartips.



I hear Dark Sky to have a W-shaped signature with a clear and transparent tonality. The tonality

is not exactly bright where it becomes harsh or fatigue, but rather vivid and relatively accurate with a hint of musicality accompanied by a powerful bass impact which prevents it from being dry and lifeless. In a way, it allows you to analyze details of instruments and vocals in non-analytical way.

There is definitely a healthy presence of deep extended bass with a clean sub-bass rumble and a bouncy mid-bass slam. The bass is elevated, but it sounds very lean and articulate, with a fast attack and shorter decay. It doesn't have a typical analog warm texture associated with DD drivers. Instead, it has a driving power of analog driver and technical performance of BAs.

Lower mids are neutral, not too lean, well separated from the bass and even contributing to some body in sound. But they don't contribute to the coloring of the tonality, and instead have a clean and transparent sound. Upper mids have a more forward presentation, very clear and detailed, and surprisingly not too dry considering their level of detail retrieval. It was refreshing to be able to analyze every sound detail without dealing with a fatigue of analytical harshness.

Treble continues with the same clean and clear tuning, providing a decent level of clarity and sparkle without being harsh or grainy (I know, I keep repeating myself). It sounds extended, with plenty of airiness and moderate level of crunch. Treble has a well-defined and vivid presentation, which, again, I never found fatigue during extended listening sessions, but you have to choose the right pair of eartips which can make or break the sound.

The soundstage is approaching 3D holographic level with an excellent imaging and relatively accurate placement of instruments and vocals. This 3D expansion in width, depth, and height felt natural, not exaggerated, with layers of sounds being well separated.

Some wide-bandwidth single DD iems could sound completely incoherent, almost like a hybrid with a detached bass and mids/treble, while I found Dark Sky tuning to be balanced and more coherent. The bass still stands out on its own as a separate layer on top of clear and vivid sound presentation, but it also finds its way to blend in better with the rest of the spectrum. I found the tuning to work well with any genre of music I threw at it, though have to say, if you prefer a more organic warmer tonality and smoother treble, or more emotional musical mids, the tuning of Dark Sky might be too “clean” for you. And the same goes for if you want a neutral bass, Dark Sky is not for you.



Eartips selection.

The selection of eartips is crucial to any universal in-ear monitors and will affect the sound, especially the bass impact/quantity which depends on the seal. Due to a large opening of my earcanals, I usually go for the largest size eartips to get a better seal. Also, please keep in mind, eartips impressions are subjective and will be based on anatomy of my ears.

stock grey - v-shaped sound sig with deep extended bass and bright crisp treble, mids a slightly recessed, creating a perfect v-shaped response. In pair up with Dark Sky, I found wider cap size eartips to tighten the seal while enhancing the bass, and wider bore opening to brighten the treble.

stock white - w-shaped sound sig where the smaller cap size eartips relax the seal and give the bass a more balanced response. Also, brings up mids a little more forward, and shifts and attenuates down the lower treble peak. Narrower bore of these eartips makes upper frequencies more natural.

AZLA Crystal/Xelastec - shifts more toward v-shaped sound, even more bass impact and crisper treble than stock grey eartips.

Final Type-E - performance is between stock grey and white, deeper bass though not as elevated, and brighter treble, though a little less harsh.

SpinFit CP145 - w-shaped sound with deep sub-bass and more mid-bass impact and crisp lower treble. Imaging takes vocals slightly out of your head, putting them more forward.

Symbio F - w-shaped sound sig with a more balanced frequency response across the entire spectrum. Bass goes deep but not as elevated, mids sound natural and more forward, and treble has great natural definition without being crisp or harsh, definitely more natural balanced sound.

For my personal taste, I preferred Symbio F and stock white eartips with Dark Sky.



Cable pair up.

I’m aware that some people don’t believe in cables and have very strong opinion about it. It’s not my intent to change those minds. Instead, I’m just sharing what I hear during my testing. What makes sense to me, a metal wire is a material with physical properties of resistivity, conductivity, purity, and unique geometry, all of which put together act as a filter between your source and headphones. Variations of these physical properties can affect the conductivity of analog signal, resulting in a sound change, from a subtle to a more noticeable level. If the talk about cables upsets you, please skip this section. Otherwise, enjoy these short impressions.

PWA 1960 4wire - more weight in bass (sub-bass rumble) and more body in mids. Good pair up.

PWA Monile ft 60 - very similar to stock cable.

Eletech Socrates - very similar to stock cable.

Eletech Aeneid - made upper mids and lower treble brighter.

Eletech Iliad - a deeper sub-bass rumble and smoother and more natural mids and treble. Liked this one a lot!

EA Code 51 - very interesting pair up since it didn't alter the sound too much, but it added a layer of analog texture, taking a "digital" edge off the sound while still keeping its vivid presentation. A good one too!

EA Centurion - very similar to C51, but with a little crisper treble and airier extension.

PlusSound PPH8 - very similar to stock cable.

I think Dark Sky stock cable is great to begin with, but if you want to scale up the sound, Iliad was my favorite pair up here.



Comparison.

The comparison was done using Dark Sky with a stock cable, white stock eartips, and LPGT and 3MAX sources; volume matched in every comparison.

Dark Sky vs CFA Solaris '20 - As soon as I started listening to Sky, a thought of Solaris crossed my mind, and when I had a chance to do a direct A/B comparison, I was able to zero in on similarities and differences. There is definitely some resemblance between the lower and upper mids of these two IEMs. When it comes to bass, Sky scales up in quantity across the sub-bass with more weight and rumble and stronger mid-bass punch. Sky bass is faster and with shorter decay, while Solaris bass has a longer decay. Treble is another interesting comparison where Sky lower treble peak is closer to 6k, giving the sound more clarity and higher definition, while Solaris lower treble peak is somewhere between 7k and 8k, which is pushing the sibilance more forward in poorly recorded tracks, making the sound a bit harsher and grainer up top while Sky sounds more natural. Soundstage expansion is similar.

Dark Sky vs DUNU Luna - this was another interesting comparison because despite Luna's pure beryllium driver, Sky performance felt as fast. The main differences between these two IEMs are in bass quantity where Luna is noticeably scaled down, closer to neutral level, while Sky is elevated, being scaled up across sub-bass and mid-bass regions. But the technical performance of the bass is very similar. The mids have quite a few similarities as well, though in upper mids I hear Luna to be more forward. With treble, both have a similar mid-treble response and extension, but lower treble of Sky is more forward and elevated in comparison to a smoother and a bit rolled off lower treble in Luna. The scaled down bass and lower treble response pushes Luna toward a more balanced and smoother tuning while Sky has a livelier fun w-shaped tuning with more elevated bass and more vivid lower treble. In this comparison, Sky soundstage is a little bit wider.

Dark Sky vs CFA Vega - Some would probably wonder, why would I bring up a 4-year-old CFA iem into this comparison? Well, they share D.L.C. dynamic driver tech, and I thought it would be an interesting comparison, especially since I haven't touched Vega in years. But I found a big difference in tuning here. First of all, Vega bass is more elevated and slower. The actually FR response is slightly scaled up when you compare both, but the characteristics of the bass is totally different, with Sky being faster and more articulate, while Vega being slower, with longer decay and more laidback presentation. Mids is where I hear the biggest difference, upper mids of Vega are completely scooped out to create a deeper V-shaped sig, while Sky mids are scaled way up to form W-shaped tuning. Surprisingly, treble has a lot of similarities, though Sky has a better extension. But due to attenuated upper mids, Vega sounds more like a basshead tuned iems, while Sky has a lot more clarity and resolution. Sky's soundstage is also wider.

Dark Sky vs Final A8000 - another huge surprise because both of these IEMs share a vivid presentation of the sound. As a matter of fact, the upper mids and the treble are close between these two monitors, both having a vivid and a very detailed tuning, with an exception of Sky scaling down the quantity and being more natural in comparison to harsher A8k. When it comes to bass, A8k sounds like a low shelving EQ filter was applied to Sky, attenuating down its entire bass. A8k bass is very neutral in quantity, despite a good sub-bass extension. Sky scales up the bass to a higher elevated level with a deep rumble and fast articulate punch. And that elevated quantity also extends into the lower mids of Sky that give its sound more body relative to a very lean A8k lower mids.

Dark Sky vs 64 Audio Trio – this comparison came to my mind based on similarities in bass I heard between these two iems. They both have a very similar deep sub-bass extension and mid-bass impact quantity. Bass response here definitely comes close, but Sky bass is faster and more articulate, while Trio bass is a little slower and with a longer decay. Mids are different, with Trio having a scooped out upper mids, bringing more focus to its treble, while Sky mids being more forward and higher in quantity. This is a key difference which brings Trio tuning to V-shaped while Sky being W-shaped. Trio’s treble is also brighter and crisper, while Sky scales it down with a more natural tonality, still vivid but definitely less “energetic” in comparison to bright tia treble in Trio. Also, soundstage of Sky is noticeably wider.



Source pair up.

In each source pair up, I was using a stock cable and while stock eartips. Dark Sky is very easy to drive considering its 114dB sensitivity and 24ohm impedance. No hissing was detected. For your reference, these are brief pair up notes. And by brief, I just focus on any changes related to signature and general tonality, without going into too many details of technical performance difference.

Lotoo LPGT – this as my baseline sound tuning with W-shaped signature, articulate layered bass with a deep sub-bass rumble and fast mid-bass punch, vivid detailed upper mids and clear extended treble.

Cayin N6ii w/R01 - this pair up takes Sky tuning into a more natural direction with deeper and more textured sub-bass rumble that gives bass more weight, a little more body in lower mids and a bit smoother upper mids, still crystal clear but with more natural texture, and similar treble as I found in LPGT pair up. Really enjoyed this pair up.

L&P P6 Pro - this pair up scales up N6ii/R01 to sound even smoother and with a more natural tonality. The sub-bass rumble is a bit more elevated than with R01, which also gives bass a little longer decay and more textured analog quality. Mids have fuller body and smoother tonality while still remains very detailed and resolving, and treble also sounds a little smoother with addition of some warmth. Another fantastic pair up

A&K SP2000 SS - similar bass presentation as LPGT, a touch more body in lower mids, while upper mids are similar to LPGT as well. The biggest change in this pair up was lower treble being smoother in comparison to LPGT, which made overall sound a little more natural.

iBasso DX300 MAX - the result of this pair up is very similar to LPGT, with the sound having a fast speed and vivid presentation, but I found 3Max to elevate the sub-bass rumble a little more, and expand the soundstage to a maximum holographic level.

iBasso DX300 MAX + Cayin C9 amp - was curious about this pair up to hear what effect C9 with its NuTubes will have on tonality of Sky. To my surprise, in combination of 3Max + C9, the Sky bass became more elevated and lower treble was also lifted up, not harsher but just higher in quantity. As a result, the sound became a little more U-shaped rather than W-shaped.

L&P W2 w/Samsung Galaxy S9 - very similar sound presentation and quality as when paired up with LPGT, very close.

Overall, I enjoyed the most a pair up of Sky with R-2R based DAPs, with LPGT and SP2k SS coming in second. More neutral and brighter DAPs will be OK, but might push the sound to be more vivid and less natural.



Conclusion.

It is always a pleasant surprise when you don’t know what to expect and end up with a discovery of a new pair of IEMs from a brand I never heard of before. Of course, everything is a matter of personal preference, but I enjoyed everything about these IEMs, from the tuning to the design, and all the included accessories. While I do have a handful of other single DD iems, I usually don’t spend as much time with those due to either a bright revealing tonality or the opposite with too much bass and poor retrieval of details. Here, in my opinion, FAudio found a perfect balance between a powerful articulate bass and a vivid presentation of clear and detailed upper frequencies. And considering its reasonable pricing, Dark Sky also has a good price/performance ratio. FAudio is definitely going to be on my radar moving forward.

Disclaimer:
I bought the IEM from Musicteck at MSRP (1150$) with my own money. I'm not sponsored by FAudio, Musicteck, or received any compensation for my review, or under any influence.
The review is purely based on my own music taste. This is my first IEM at 1000$ so it may have some bias.


About me:
I'm an Asian guy living in Europe. I'm not a specialist in audio or anything. Music is my hobby. 95% of my library contains Japanese music. The rest are some western pop/rock. Due to geographical limitation, my exposure to the high-end market is limited.



About the IEM
FAudio is a Hong Kong brand, started in 2014. They are relatively famous in China, but do not have much coverage elsewhere. The Dark Sky is the successor to their previous flagship universal IEM, Major. Introduced in Summer 2021, I believe the Dark Sky is their first model being sold outside of Asia. Same as the previous flagship UIEM, this IEM contains a single dynamic driver only. Unfortunately, their website does not even cover the Dark Sky yet, which is a shame.



Unboxing

The IEM is packed inside a fairly premium box. Dark blue (or Dark-sky blue) is the theme here. Apart from the IEM itself (and the cable), FAudio provides a good selection of accessories:

• Leather case
• 3.5mm and 4.4mm adaptor
• 2 types of silicone tips and one pair of foam tips
• Cleaning brush
• Soft pouch for each side
• Protective silicone covers for the IEM’s housing

Inside the Service Pack, we have the Warranty Card, User Guide, cleaning cloth, and another textile pouch, all in high quality.

With the real estate inside the box, I would prefer having the tips laid out in a structured table, rather than stuffing everything inside a tiny plastic zip bag inside the leather case. It will greatly help to explain the difference between the types of tips (more on that later) as well as easier to find the size.

I particularly like the soft protective cover for the housing, as well as the 2 adaptors. Since the cable terminates at 2.5mm balanced connector, the adaptors will ensure compatibility with any DAPs. The silicone covers are very soft and provide great protection for the IEM. Wearing the IEM with the covers gives me quite a funny feeling: the outer part is very soft and snugly fit, while the inside is solid and cold.



The cable is made out of pure silver alloy, divided into 4 strands with matching color. The hardware parts are CNC machined, which gives a very solid and premium feeling. The outer jacket is very soft and pliable, however, the pre-curved 2-pin connectors are pretty stiff, which may affect the fit and comfort. Nevertheless, it’s a good one and I bet you will like it.



Fit, comfort and isolation

The shell of the IEM is made of lightweight aluminum. There are no sharp edges, and its design fits wonderfully into my ears, even without any cable support. My girlfriend, who has particularly small ears, also praised the design as this is my first IEM that actually fits her ears I’m a bit worried about long-term duration of the paint coating though, seeing it being scratched from various photos (on Weibo).

The cable, while being very soft and flexible, is on the heavy side. The pre-curved parts, on the other hand, are very stiff. They rotate the IEM inside my ears, causing a very uncomfortable pain. It took me a few days to bend them to the shape I want. Even then, due to the non-rotatable nature of the 2-pin connectors (vs MMCX), very often the cable is pushed out from the back of my ears. I use the chin slider to keep the cable from moving too much, but this is not my preferred choice. Nevertheless, once I fixed all the problems with the cable, it is now very comfortable. There is no microphonic coming from it while walking.

Isolation is average (or should I say below-average), due to the shell design – with 2 vents on each side for the acoustic chambers, I can hear the conversation quite easily even with music on, thus I won’t recommend using it on public transport.



Technology



Given that the IEM carries only a single dynamic driver on each side, there must be some serious technology to back up the hefty price. Fortunately, in this IEM, we have the second generation of the design inherited from Major. The same Triple Built-in Acoustic Chamber (TBAC) is used, but now the nozzle is now made of stainless steel to avoid oxidization problem. What are the 3 chambers, you may ask? They are the nozzle, the outer shell, and the actual housing of the driver, each has a different function.

The driver itself is a 10.2mm double diaphragm dynamic driver. One is Fiber material and the other is a DLC material diaphragm. The driver is actually very easy to drive, having 24ohm impedance and 114dB sensitivity.

How does all that affect the sound? Let’s dive right into it.



Sound

Frequency response from Crinacle

The Dark Sky has a W-shaped signature, with emphasis on the bass and the treble, but never becomes harsh. Mid takes a slight step back, but it is still quite pronounced. Here I would like to take a quote from Twister6, who had wonderfully summarized the sound signature of Dark Sky in one sentence:

In a way, it allows you to analyze details of instruments and vocals in non-analytical way.

Click to expand...

I strongly recommend at least 100 hours of burn-in. After this, the bass gets tighter, there is no bleeding, mid gets smoother and the soundstage expands outside your head a bit more.

Bass

Oh, the bass! I’m not a bass-head, so I was skeptical judging from the frequency response. At first, I was not very familiar with the level of bass in the Dark Sky, but after the burn-in period, the bass evolved to wow me: it extended well into the sub-bass region with great impact when it is called for. Midbass never gets into lower mid. The bass region is very articulate with excellent texture and natural decay. The downside? This is not a neutral bass by any means, but a very fun bass shelf that will make your heart thump!

An example: ANTI-HERO by Sekai No Owari. The beginning of this song starts with a string of double bass, follow by a very low piano note. The Dark Sky portrays both with wonderful texture, and the rumble from the bass is pronounced without muddying the piano.

Midrange

The midrange can be described as clean and lively. From this part, your experience may vary greatly depending on the tips and source matching (more on that later). In general, the lower mid stays flat with a slight bump just to keep a nice body. The Upper mid has a proper boost to provide details and presentation to the vocal and instrument. Vocal is well separated from the instrument (sometimes I find it too separated from the background track on certain tracks). The tuning favors Asian music, where vocal often stays at a higher pitch than the Western counterpart. The midrange is always full of detail with very good layering, but never becomes harsh. Texture is well-defined and has great accuracy in timbre.

For example: Yorushika – Spring Thief - suis’s vocal fluctuates beautifully from the lowest note to the highest note. There is a great separation and dynamic coming from the initial guitar to the main chorus. I can discern each instrument from the mix very easily. For a busier, fast-paced track, like MY FIRST STORY – 1000000 TIMES (ft. chelly), the Dark Sky never skips a beat and keep everything at great clarity, nothing is lost in the song, with Hiro’s and chelly’s voice standing in front

Treble

From the upper midrange to the treble region, based on the graph, initially, I was afraid that it would be harsh and sibilance. After proper burn-in, I’m glad that it was not the case. Violin is airy and has a very good texture. Cymbal comes out with an accurate timbre, and never jumps out too much or becomes harsh. The energy coming from the treble produces crunchiness and extended very well into the Air region. But, I can see that this level of treble can be fatiguing to some. Nevertheless, I don’t hear any annoying ‘s’ and ‘ts’, so the treble-sensitive shouldn’t be worried here.



Technicalities

My exposure to the high-end market is limited, so please take it with a grain of salt

Even though the soundstage is no match vs open-back headphones, this is the largest soundstage from an IEM that I have experienced. It has a proper left/right extension, with depth greater than height. With proper tracks, the space is accurately portrayed, nothing exaggerated. I particularly love listening to live recordings with the Dark Sky, it makes me feel like I’m in the concert hall, front row. Everything is laid out in 180-degree field, maybe even a touch more. But, the stage can get intimate if the song demands it.

Unfortunately, it does not have enough height for orchestras. Nevertheless, the Dark Sky redeems itself with pinpoint imaging and excellent layering. The center image is very strong, making me feel like having the singer right in front of me. It spots a great macro-dynamic as well, being able to swing from the quiet note to the explosive chorus, in Nightwish - The Greatest Show On Earth for example. Being a single dynamic driver, the Dark Sky is very coherent.

The tuning works well with all types of music. Due to its energetic presentation, bad recordings will be exposed here.



Pairing

Tips

The Dark Sky comes with 3 types of tips: foam (which is not my favorite type of tips, so I didn’t touch it), grey tips, and white silicone tips. With some digging, I found that the silicone tips actually have different purposes, with grey tips being dubbed as ‘Vocal’ tips, and white tips being ‘Instrument’ tips.


As their names suggest, the Vocal tips push the vocal upfront even more, while the Instrument tips favor the instruments, and have the vocal blends more with the background track. In both cases, I find the upper midrange a tad fatiguing.

For example, with Reona’s まっさら, during the chorus, from around 0.56, it gets particularly high with Reona’s voice and the instruments all raise up together.

With this, I return to my good old Final E tips. This helps to shave away some sharp edges up top, while maintaining a good vocal separation at the level between the grey tips and the white tips. I highly recommend this combination if you find the upper mid/lower treble region too bright.

Source

The Dark Sky is very sensitive, so it is relatively easy to drive. On the other hand, it does hiss, so you will need a clean source for a dark background. With my QLS QA361, there is no hiss coming from the single-ended output, but there is a faint hiss from the balanced one. No hiss from the Sony A55 either, but it hisses terribly with the Hifiman Supermini even with the single-ended output.

I prefer pairing the Dark Sky with a neutral source, like the QA361. With the Sony A55, the mid-bass can get too pronounced at certain tracks. The Dark Sky also benefits from the extra definition and resolution from the QA361.





Comparisons

final A8000 (1999$)

The flagship IEM from final houses pure beryllium dynamic driver and cost almost double the price of the Dark Sky. The shells are the top-notch Japanese quality. It’s a bit heavier than the DS, but more comfortable in my ears. The accessories however don’t justify the price tag, but the overall experience is still flagship-like.

The tuning of A8000 is very similar to the Dark Sky. Surprisingly, the bass of the A8000 is on the same level in terms of quantity, even though frequency response didn’t suggest that. Quality is on another level: quick, punchy, squeaky-clean, and detailed. The best type of bass.

Mid is somewhat similar as DS, however, it’s a tad brighter. Male vocal has less warmth, while female vocal is borderline shouty (to me). It can get a bit fatiguing in some J-Pop tracks. This brings us 2 issues: vocal can get unnatural sometimes, and the mid does not tolerate any bad recordings.

On the other hand, A8000 shines the brightest with instruments. Combined with hyper detailed but smooth high, anything with strings sounds absolutely heavenly. I never feel the string pluck to be rendered so life-like in any IEMs. The A8000 is made for classical and symphonies.

Technicalities are what really pull the A8000 ahead. Soundstage is wide, tall and deep, but not in an exaggerate way. It can paint a very accurate picture of the recording: if the recording is intimate, the vocal and the band sit right next to you; but if the recording includes spatial cues, the A8000 can also express it. Imaging is even more precise than DS, so does dynamic. All I can say is that the A8000 is in a different league when it comes to technicalities.

Sennheiser IE600 (699$)

Another DD IEM, this time from Sennheiser. I could only spend 30 minutes with it, so please take this comparison with a grain of salt. Both IEMs share a very similar sounds profile, with the IE600 being a little more relaxed and refined. The bass profile is very similar, but the IE600 is slightly cleaner and has better definition here. Same goes for the mid, where the IE600 demonstrate a very similar character. The high is where I found the biggest difference: the IE600 has slightly better extension, but also can get hot with the S and Z sound. Soundstage is slightly narrower, but overall, at 700$, I can't complain about it!

Meze Advar (699$)

Cross-posting from the Advar review: Despite the price difference, both IEMs share a lot of similarities in terms of sound tuning. The Dark Sky has a brighter but more agreeable treble, a tad more aggressive upper mid, and a lot more bass (which can be overwhelming with certain tracks). Between the two, Advar is a more musical tuning. Technicalities are about the same, with the Dark Sky having more depth but with less height. Considering sound alone, Advar offers a very good value at 699$. But I would say the Dark Sky offer a more complete package, with a better (balanced) cable, more tips selection. But if this is not your priority, I will pick Advar over the Dark Sky.



Conclusion

In the end, I find that the Dark Sky did live up to its name: a thick, black space with sparkling stars. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference, but if you are looking for a fun-sounding IEM, with great technicalities and coherency, this might be the one. I'm eager to see how FAudio moves forward from here!